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PSN Review – Battlefield 1943

July 16, 2009 Written by Adam Wolfe

One of the most anticipated third party games has finally hit PSN. Battlefield 1943 takes inspiration from previous Battlefield games and presents it in a compact, three map, download-only title. But can this downloadable game stand up to its full retail brethren, or does it fall apart at the seams?
Battlefield 1943 is a World War II themed FPS that allows players to choose one of two sides, the United States Marine Corps or the Imperial Japanese Navy. You will compete online with up to 24 players on three maps: Wake Island, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima. A competition to unlock a 4th map called Coral Sea occured this week, and though Xbox 360 owners were able to play the map first since they earned 43 million kills, PS3 owners have also reached the goal and will finally be able to partake in the level as well.

If you have played previous Battlefield games, then the gameplay is pretty straight forward. There are three classes to choose from: infantry, rifleman, and scout. Each class has its own special skill, and each class performs best from a certain distance. Once you’ve selected your class, you will start the round on either a boat in the middle of the ocean, or at an airfield.

In the One and Only game type, you and your team will capture and hold zones in order to drop your opponents’ meter down to zero. The more zones you capture and hold, the faster the meter will drop. The team that drops their opponents’ meter first is deemed the winner. Only having one game type is a negative aspect of the title, but with matches sometimes lasting as long as 15 minutes it definitely wasn’t a bad choice. But having other game types would have helped out a lot.

Each battle can be attacked from a multitude of ways. Other than the three infantry classes, there are also a few vehicles thrown into the mix. First up are the WWII fighter planes, which can be hard to handle at first, but become devastating on the battlefield once they’re mastered. Besides flying the WWII fighters, you can also call in bombing runs. There is only one location on each map where you are able to call in a bombing run, and once the building is available you can walk in and call in the air support. With three planes each dropping three bombs, the tide of the battle can turn fast. You only get one shot during each run, so it’s important to make these shots count.

If you prefer to dominate turf, you can grab some wheels by either hoping into a jeep or a tank. The jeeps can hold up to three people; one driver, one turret operator, and a side passenger who can still use their weapons. The tank is a formidable opponent, with the driver having both a main cannon and a machine gun to mow down and blow up ranks of enemy soldiers.